What’s in a name? Just about everything when a group calls itself Actor’s Theatre of New Orleans.

CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNERene Piazza, left, Chelle Ambrose, center, and Leon Contavesprie gather on stage as they rehearse "Dinner with Friends," at the Actor's Theatre of New Orleans in Metairie. They were photographed at the theater on Thursday, August 5, 2010 as they prepare to celebrate the theatre's fifth anniversary.

“When we started in 2005, we wanted actors in the community to know that this theater belongs to them. It’s a place to grow as an artist, to find an audience, to see everything that goes into making live theater,” said co-founder and artistic director Rene Piazza. “This isn’t a theater with a lot of silly hierarchy. You’ll see me directing, acting — and taking out trash. That’s what it takes to make a go if it.”

Five years, 60 plays, and one huge hurricane later, the company has proved its staying power. Under the leadership of Piazza and co-founder Chelle Ambrose, the theater has worked with more than 200 actors, offering a mix of comedies, dramas, musicals, improv — and the regional premiere of 4 lacerating shows by the controversial playwright Neil LaBute.

On Thursday, Actors Theater will launch its sixth season with “Dinner With Friends.” It’s a reprise of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama that inaugurated the company’s 50-seat, Metairie theatre in back in August 2005. They will follow with LaBute’s “Reasons to be Pretty,” in September. The rest of the season includes two shows created by Piazza and a play that proved one of the company’s most popular in 2006: “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

Hurricane Katrina cut short the first run of “Dinner With Friends,” but it didn’t dampen the resolve of Piazza and Ambrose. When Jefferson Parish re-opened for one-day visits by evacuated residents, Piazza went to the theater. Checking for damage by flashlight — the power was out — he found a few fallen ceiling tiles and some water stains. By October 2005, Ambrose and Piazza were back at work with a program of four one-act comedies.

“Because of Katrina, this five-year anniversary is not just a milestone for us,” Ambrose said. “We’ve been part of the artistic and emotional recovery of the entire community.”

“I suppose we could have left town — a lot of actors did — but both Rene and I are from New Orleans,” she said. “The storm became a spur. Risks didn’t matter anymore. What did we have to lose after coming back from the ashes?”

Piazza, who also teaches at the Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies in Jefferson Parish, has a mission that goes beyond storm recovery. “Metairie needs live theater,” he said. “A lot of the kids that I teach have never seen a play in person. They are caught up with video games and animation and they wonder why someone should spend 20 dollars to sit in a dark room with local actors. What they’re missing is the feedback between actors and audiences that occurs when something is happening in real time, in front of you. It’s a magic thing. I’m glad to be part of it — and I don’t mind having to sweep the floor and take tickets to make it happen.”

For details about “Dinner With Friends” and the rest of the season contact Actor’s Theatre of New Orleans, 4539 N. I-10 Service Road, Suite 200 Metairie at (504) 456-4111 or go to actorstheatreofneworleans.com